


Rey Palpatine

by Jackwes



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Ending, Episode IX, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:00:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22802947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jackwes/pseuds/Jackwes
Summary: Alternate ending to The Rise of Skywalker.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	Rey Palpatine

Rey stared blankly at the discarded lightsabres as the sand rose up to swallow them. She thought this would be a grand moment, the last traces of the Skywalker heritage finally put to rest beneath the earth. Instead, it seemed pitiful, the great Skywalker lineage fading away on some Outer Rim desert planet.

Maybe the Skywalkers should have faded away earlier, she thought. This immense, interwoven conflict between Skywalker and Palpatine had only ever brought suffering to the galaxy. She had read the legends, the prophecy that spoke of the Chosen One bringing balance to the force. 

Was balance really worth all this, she thought bitterly. This great prophecy had seemingly failed to take into account the human lives this ‘balance’ would cost. And was the galaxy really any better off for this ‘balance’? When she had left the Resistance, after all the celebrations and extravagant ceremonies, people had already been talking about how they would rebuild the Republic, and things would go back to how they used to be. It had taken all her effort not to scoff at this, to object. The people of Jakku had never known of this great Republic, who would protect all the innocents of the galaxy. Jakku had been abandoned, left in the vice grip of slavers and warlords and mercenaries, while the people living in the heart of the Republic remarked on the glory of the Republic, and how great it was that they were free from tyranny.

When she had looked into the history of the Republic, archivists and writers had gone to great lengths to emphasise that the Emperor had manipulated and corrupted the Republic, destroyed this once great institution. But there had been senators, and votes, and legislation, and they had all allowed Palpatine to take control of the Republic. This system of bureaucracy, this great alliance of planets and cultures, had directly led to the Empire, and then the New Republic, created in the wake of the fall of the Empire, had once again allowed the rise of a new power, the First Order.

Was the galaxy really fated to go in circles forever? The Jedi would be torn down by a new, Dark presence, and the Republic would be torn down by a new dictatorship. Then there would be an uprising, the Dark side would be vanquished, Good would prevail, and they would all celebrate until the cycle repeats again, and the Dark side would return.

Maybe Leia would have been able to see the flaws in the system, been able to work towards something different, something stable. She had at least seen the cowardice and fear of the new Republic, and struck out on her own to resist the First Order. But now Leia was dead, having died to redeem her son, whilst Rey was lightyears away, unable to do anything to help the woman she had come to think of as her mother. And then, soon after, Ben had joined her in death anyway, her sacrifice only worthy of a few hours in the Light.  
Rey clenched the sand beneath her hands, memories of growing up on Jakku plaguing her mind. Had anything really changed since those lonely nights wishing for her parents to return? She had found people to care for, people who had come to form a makeshift family, but now most of them were gone, and that black void of loneliness in her heart was back. She was back where she had started, in the blistering heat of the desert, the sand sifting beneath her. 

She finally stood up, and made to walk back through the desert, when she suddenly heard the voice of an old woman.

“Who are you?”. Her tone was harsh and annoyed, as though she could not believe the audacity of an outsider to come onto her patch of sand.

“Rey”, she replied distantly.

“Rey who?”, came the old woman again, her voice once again harsh, as though this was an interrogation.

“Rey…”. She turned to the side, where she thought she could vaguely make out the figures of Luke and Leia Skywalker smiling at her. Rey Skywalker was at the tip of her tongue, her new identity about to be spoken into existence, when she stopped. She wasn’t a Skywalker. She wasn’t going to be the one to carry on the Skywalker legacy. Too many people had tried to control her destiny, from Kylo to Snoke to Sidious, and even to Luke.

“Rey Palpatine”, she said instead, testing the words out as they escaped her mouth. There was no recoil of fear or shock from the old woman, she simply grunted dismissively and resumed walking. Rey wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed at her reaction. She’d clearly never heard of any other Palpatine; she must have had bigger problems than battles taking place on the other side of the galaxy, over beliefs and ideals that she did not care about.

Palpatine was just a name, her name. It didn’t define her character; it was simply a fact of her existence.

She got to define her character, not the past. She had control over her own future. 

And so Rey Palpatine walked back towards her ship.


End file.
